Photo of Radhika Menon by Ch Kodandaramaiah
At noon, on June 22, 2015, second officer Manoj Chauhan, of the ship, ‘Sampurna Swarajya’, noticed a boat two-and-a-half kms away, off the coast of Gopalpur, Orissa. Owing to a deep depression there were fierce winds and rains. The wind speed was 60 to 70 knots, while the waves rose to a height of 25-27 feet. As a result, the boat was being tossed up and down.
Manoj
informed Radhika Menon, the first woman captain of the Indian
Merchant Navy.
“When I looked through my binoculars, they were
waving their shirts and asking for help,” says Radhika, who is from
Kodungallur.
Radhika immediately
ordered a rescue operation. Because of the turbulent sea, it took
three attempts before all seven were rescued. The fishermen, who
ranged in age from the 15-year old Perla Mahesh to Narasimha Murthy,
50, were in bad shape. They were weak, starving and frightened. The
food and water had been washed away. They survived by sucking on ice
cubes from the cold storage, which is used for preserving the fish.
On
April 5, National Maritime Day, the National Maritime Day
Celebration
Committee of India will confer the 'Seafarers Gallantry Award' on Radhika for rescuing the fishermen. She is the first woman to be conferred with this award at a function in Mumbai.
“I am humbled, honoured, and grateful to have been selected as a recipient,” says Radhika. “It is a maritime obligation to save souls in distress at sea and, as a seafarer and Master in command of my ship, I just did my duty. I am very grateful to my officers and crew who did a great job. This award will be a constant reminder of the support and appreciation that I have received. I promise to continue the seafaring tradition of helping others.”
Committee of India will confer the 'Seafarers Gallantry Award' on Radhika for rescuing the fishermen. She is the first woman to be conferred with this award at a function in Mumbai.
“I am humbled, honoured, and grateful to have been selected as a recipient,” says Radhika. “It is a maritime obligation to save souls in distress at sea and, as a seafarer and Master in command of my ship, I just did my duty. I am very grateful to my officers and crew who did a great job. This award will be a constant reminder of the support and appreciation that I have received. I promise to continue the seafaring tradition of helping others.”
And
this brave woman has a simple advice to girls who want to follow in
her footsteps: “She should not expect any special consideration
just because she is a girl. She should know her work thoroughly, so
that she can command the respect of others.”
(The
New Indian Express, Kerala editions)
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